Charlotte Hornets forward Kelly Oubre Jr. remains listed as out ahead of Monday's matchup in New York. The veteran has missed his previous three games while adhering to the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols. His next chance to make it back will come on Wednesday in Boston. However, in the meantime, Cody Martin could see an uptick in production from off the bench until Oubre can make it back.

Charlotte Hornets shooting guard/small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. has been added to the league's health and safety protocols, ruling him out indefinitely, beginning with Monday's game vs. Milwaukee. The absence will mark the first of the season for Oubre, who has enjoyed an excellent offensive year in Charlotte by averaging 16.6 points per game. The 2.9 threes that the southpaw shooter has averaged would far and away set a new career-best and are tied for the 15th-most in the league. It remains to be seen how the Hornets second unit will compensate for the loss of Oubre's scoring punch, but Ish Smith, Cody Martinand P.J. Washington are all candidates to take on elevated offensive roles.

Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Kelly Oubre Jr. made key contributions off the bench in Thursday's win over Denver, coming through with a team-high 23 points in 32 minutes. He shot 7-for-15 from the field and 5-for-11 from downtown, adding four rebounds, one assist, four steals and one block. This was a big improvement from a five-point performance Oubre Jr. had against Utah on Monday. The 26-year-old should be able to start off next week on the right foot as well, with Charlotte hosting the Rockets on Monday, a team that has allowed the most bench points in the league this season.

Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Kelly Oubre Jr. will make his 10th start of the season on Monday against Utah, replacing Gordon Hayward (back). The former Jazz star was doubtful for the game and couldn't make it in the end. Oubre Jr. has averaged 18.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and two assists as a starter this season. He tends to be very inconsistent with his play, but Oubre Jr. certainly has plenty of fantasy appeal.

Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Kelly Oubre Jr. erupted for a team-high 35 points during a 127-124 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. The 25-year-old shot 13-for-24 from the field, including 6-for-13 from behind the arc, and 3-for-4 from the line. The Kansas product also added five rebounds, three assists, four steals, and a block across 43 minutes. Oubre Jr. earned a second-consecutive start with point guard LaMelo Ball entering the league's health and safety protocols on Saturday. When given steady minutes, Oubre Jr. is capable of putting up terrific numbers. Over the past three games, he is averaging over 29 points, 2 steals, 3.3 rebounds, and two assists per game while seeing over 37 minutes per game.

Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Kelly Oubre Jr. managed to keep up his good scoring form with a 25-point effort in Wednesday's loss to the Bucks, shooting 9-for-14 from the field and 5-for-9 from behind the arc. He added a pair of rebounds to his tally with one assist, one steal and three turnovers in 31 minutes off the bench. Oubre Jr. has now scored 20-plus points in four of the last five games and the only outing in which he didn't hit the plateau was an 18-point effort. It's been a major improvement from the 25-year-old, who performed very inconsistently at the start of the season.

Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Kelly Oubre Jr. picked up 21 points in 34 minutes off the bench in Wednesday's win against the Magic, shooting 7-for-17 from the field and 3-for-8 from downtown. He also pulled down six rebounds and recorded just one turnover. Oubre Jr.'s work this month includes a 37-point effort against Memphis, but he had managed just 15 points in two games prior to Wednesday, so the 25-year-old is blowing hot and cold. He rarely has two good games on the bounce, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect too much from Oubre Jr. on Friday against Minnesota.

Charlotte Hornets shooting guard Kelly Oubre Jr. erupted for a game-high 37 points during a 118-108 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. The 25-year-old was unconscious from three-point land, shooting 7-for-9 from behind the arc. Oubre Jr. finished the night with five rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 31 minutes. While the performance was stellar, he is part of a deep Hornets guard group and has seen his minutes dip below 27; which would be his lowest since the 2017-18 season. His value will come from points, threes, and some boards, as the percentages will be rough and he provides little on the defensive end.

Charlotte Hornets guard Kelly Oubre Jr. returned to the bench, producing incredible results as he dropped a season-high 26 points in 32 minutes. With Terry Rozier back in the starting five, Oubre led the second unit. The 26 points were great, but he also added seven rebounds, six triples, five assists, and two steals. Oubre now has at least three triples in three of his last four games, and he is carving out a role in Charlotte no matter if he starts or comes off the bench. Unfortunately, the night-to-night consistency isn't there (yet) for him to be a reliable DFS option. Still, Oubre needs to be looked at in 12-team leagues as a reliable bench option moving into Week 3 and beyond.

Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Kelly Oubre Jr. did some really good bench scoring in Friday's clash with Cleveland, picking up 25 points in 29 minutes off the pine in a 123-112 win. He missed only four of his 13 shots from the field and went 4-for-7 from downtown with a 3-for-3 record at the line. His night also included three rebounds, one assist and one steal. Being a bench player isn't nice, but Oubre Jr. can still be a factor even if his minutes are a bit limited and it looks like he fits in well in Charlotte. Oubre Jr. will try to impress once more against the Nets on Sunday. Brooklyn has started the year with a lowly 117.7 defensive rating.

Charlotte Hornets forward Kelly Oubre Jr. (ankle) is listed as doubtful for Monday's preseason game against the Miami Heat. It doesn't appear to be a serious sprain, but the Hornets want to be cautious. This injury shouldn't linger into the regular season, which is good news for his fantasy value. However, it's uncertain what type of role Oubre will have with his new team. He could be worth targeting in the late rounds, but might be someone to wait and see on the waiver wire.

Free-agent forward Kelly Oubre Jr. has agreed to a two-year, $26 million contract with Charlotte. After Oubre spent most of his years in Washington, he made stops in Phoenix and, most recently, Golden State, where he finished the 2020-21 campaign by averaging 15.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steals. The veteran's health is an issue, primarily since he hasn't logged an entire season yet, and his shooting percentages need to improve. However, the former Jayhawk has the potential to crack the starting-five with the Hornets, or at the very least, see plenty of time as a viable sixth man moving ahead.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Warriors general manager Bob Myers has little doubt Golden State will sign newly crowned scoring champion Stephen Curry to a contract extension this offseason. “I don’t see any reason not to be optimistic,” Myers said Monday, three days after his team's season ended in a play-in game against the Grizzlies. “He seems like he’s motivated, we’re motivated. I would say pretty confident we’ll get something done.” In December, Curry said discussions were underway and that he is “fully committed.” The two-time NBA MVP signed a $201 million, five-year contract in July 2017 that initially was the richest ever, until James Harden topped it with a $228 million extension from the Rockets. “Obviously, we want Steph back in the worst way," coach Steve Kerr said. “There’s no reason to think why that won’t happen.” The shock of the season's abrupt end hadn't quite sunk in for two-time MVP Curry after Friday's loss at home to the Grizzlies, but he was already looking at what moves might... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — All along, Stephen Curry just wanted to play for something at the end after everybody counted out his Golden State Warriors from the beginning. He could only be proud when this group fell just short of the goal, appreciating how sick and saddened his teammates felt when they didn't get it done. The Warriors were eliminated from playoff contention with a 117-112 overtime loss to Memphis on Friday night in the second play-in game. That after losing a 103-100 heartbreaker to LeBron James and the Lakers two days earlier in Los Angeles. “I would love a playoff experience and seven-game series and see how we respond to that challenge. We have two — I call it three playoff games, the last game of the season and these last two play-in situations,” Curry said. "But it’s not how it’s drawn up in terms of the format, and now we have three months to rejuvenate, retool, come back next season, whatever that means. “These last three games, including the homestand, I call it nine games,... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Chris Paul is a little uncomfortable with the notion that he comes to the Phoenix Suns as a wise veteran player who can impart his knowledge to the next generation of stars. Sure, he knows he's in his mid-30s and time isn't going backward. Yes, he's ready to pair with Devin Booker, who just turned 24 and is one of the game's top young scorers. And certainly, after 15 years, 1,020 regular-season games and 109 postseason games, he's learned a few things along the way. But just because he's got a Ph.D. in NBA basketball doesn't mean he's coming to the desert to be a professor. “I'm not James Naismith by no means,” Paul said grinning. “It's fun for me. First things first, I'm not just coming here to teach everybody. I'm (Booker's) teammate. We're here to hoop, we're here to compete and that's the way I approach this.” Paul, 35, showed he can still play at a high level last season in Oklahoma City, making his 10th All-Star team while averaging 17.6 points and 6.7 assists per game.... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Guard Kelly Oubre is joining the Golden State Warriors to give the team backcourt depth in the wake of Klay Thompson's latest injury, with Oubre acquired Sunday in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Warriors will send a conditional 2021 first-round draft pick and a 2021 second-round selection — via Denver — to Oklahoma City in the swap. Thompson will miss the season after suffering a torn right Achilles tendon playing a pickup game in Southern California on Wednesday. He already sat out the coronavirus-shortened season recovering from surgery for a torn ACL in his left knee that he hurt in the Raptors' clinching Game 6 victory of the 2019 NBA Finals. “We’ve got to look hard and look fast,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said Thursday when Golden State introduced No. 2 overall draft pick James Wiseman and second-rounder Nico Mannion at Chase Center. “But I’ve got some great guys I work with that are working right now on what we can do. And so we’ve got to... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder bolstered their frontcourt during the NBA draft on Wednesday night, acquiring Serbian forward Aleksej Pokusevski in a trade with Minnesota. The Timberwolves selected Pokusevski with the 17th pick, but a person with knowledge of the negotiations said they had agreed to send the choice to Oklahoma City in exchange for the 25th and 28th overall selections and point guard Ricky Rubio. The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced. Deals involving players can’t be finalized until free agency officially begins on Sunday for salary cap purposes. Pokusevski, 18, is listed at 6-foot-11 and 215 pounds. He represented Serbia at the 2018 FIBA U-17 World Championship and the 2019 FIBA U-18 European Championship. He played for Olympiacos' second-division team in Greece last season and averaged 10.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. It has been a busy month for the Thunder. Last... [More]

Chris Paul holds a $44 million option for the 2021-22 season, a massive payday that may have kept some teams from trying to trade for the All-Star point guard. The Phoenix Suns weren’t deterred. They have a pair of All-Stars in their backcourt now, with hopes the duo of Paul and Devin Booker — one of the league’s most dynamic young scorers — will be enough to get the franchise back to the postseason for the first time since 2010. The trade sending Paul to the Suns from Oklahoma City was completed Monday night, a blockbuster to start what could be a wild few days of NBA transactions before training camps begin next month. The particulars: The Suns get Paul and forward Abdel Nader, while the Thunder get Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and a protected 2022 first-round pick. “We are excited to welcome Chris Paul and Abdel Nader to Phoenix,” Suns general manager James Jones said. “Chris’ leadership and competitive approach to the game will have an immeasurable impact on... [More]

All-Star guard Chris Paul is being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Phoenix Suns, where he'll play alongside one of the league's most dynamic young scorers in fellow All-Star Devin Booker, a person with knowledge of the situation said Monday. The Thunder are acquiring Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Jalen Lecque, Ty Jerome and a first-round pick that will be conveyed sometime between 2022 and 2025, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been finalized by the league. Rubio reacted to the trade news with a tweet: “... what a business," he wrote. It is a huge leap for the Suns, who went 8-0 inside the NBA's restart bubble at Walt Disney World in a frantic, but futile, quest to make the playoffs. Paul is owed about $41 million for this season and has a $44 million player option for next season, which was too much of an impediment for other teams that considered acquiring him last summer. The Suns, however, deemed it worth... [More]

All-Star guard Chris Paul is being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Phoenix Suns, where he'll play alongside one of the league's most dynamic young scorers in fellow All-Star Devin Booker, a person with knowledge of the situation said Monday. The Thunder are acquiring Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Jalen Lecque, Ty Jerome and a first-round pick that will be conveyed sometime between 2022 and 2025, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been finalized by the league. Rubio reacted to the trade news with a tweet: “... what a business," he wrote. It is a huge leap for the Suns, who went 8-0 inside the NBA's restart bubble at Walt Disney World in a frantic, but futile, quest to make the playoffs. Paul is owed about $41 million for this season and has a $44 million player option for next season, which was too much of an impediment for other teams that considered acquiring him last summer. The Suns, however, deemed it worth... [More]